


9:20 Dragon

by yunhaiiro



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Backstory, Gen, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-06 15:41:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4227501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yunhaiiro/pseuds/yunhaiiro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Way before the Blight, way before Kwerkus Mahariel become a Grey Warden, he was just a kid in a Dalish clan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	9:20 Dragon

The Korcari Wilds. No one really wants to venture in there.

But for the Dalish, it’s just like any other forest.

Well, maybe that’s not exactly true. It just so happens that this particular Dalish clan knows who these wilds belong to, and also know not to cross her.

In exchange, they get to pass through the forest unharmed.

The Keeper holds the aravels aloft while they glide along the trees pulled by the halla, families busying themselves inside, making food, sleeping, chatting with each other.

The kids, though, have too much energy to be cooped up and are outside, running alongside the landships on an impromptu race. The Keeper’s First, Merrill, is still one of them, so it falls to Marethari to do all the magic work alone, but she’s accustomed to it. The clan’s hunters, weapons at the ready, step sure-footed around the aravels, trying to avoid the screaming kids bumping into them. Some look at the kids with amusement. Others just ignore them.

The kids don’t know about Asha’bellanar, so they’re not worried. It’s all as it should be.

The race is over when they reach the leading aravel and they all stop, hands on their knees and gasping for air. The hallas look at them warily, but keep moving.

Kwerkus recovers first and shouts “I win!”. His long red bangs get into his eyes and he shakes his head to push them aside.

The others are not so convinced.

“How do you do it?!”

“You can’t win all the time!” growls Fenarel.

Kwerkus just smiles wide and says that he used his _spirit power_.

Merrill looks at him like he just sprouted a new head. With blond hair.

Tamlen just seems tired of this argument.

“You didn’t, I saw you-“

No one gets to hear what Tamlen saw, because Kwerkus jumps at him and they both roll on the ground. Merrill shouts for them to stop, looking on the verge of tears.

They don’t stop, but they do roll a bit too far and go down a slope. When they stop, several meters down, they both sit up and rub their heads, trying to get the dirt out of their hair.

Apart from that, and some scratches down their arms and legs, they’re unharmed.

But they don’t really know where they are.

Tamlen looks up at where they had fallen. No way to climb back up. At least the aravels are still visible. They could follow them…

Kwerkus jumps up and kicks the ground with a bare foot, spraying more dirt on Tamlen.

“Why did you have to say anything?!”

“Because you don’t have spirit powers! I saw you climb up an aravel and jump from one to another, that’s how you always win!”

Kwerkus crosses his arms and pouts.

“I do have spirit powers.”

“You don’t.”

“I do!”

“Can they help us get back to the clan, then?” Tamlen gestures up. The aravels have kept moving and they’re barely visible now.

Kwerkus looks up at the slope and seems thoughtful.

“I can climb that.”

“Absolutely not,” Tamlen says, getting up at last. “We should walk along it, where we can see them, and wait for the ground to even up.”

“Guess we can do that.”

Tamlen blinks, surprised at the lack of resistance, but he’s not going to push his luck.

“Let’s go, then.”

They walk in silence for a while. They lose sight of the landships’ tall sails a couple of times, but Kwerkus never looks worried. He can probably hear them better than Tamlen can see them.

Kwerkus is the first one who breaks the silence.

“Haven’t you thought about it?”

“Thought about what?”

Kwerkus picks up a slim branch at the foot of a tree and starts breaking it into little pieces.

“Why no one talks about my parents.”

Tamlen shakes his head.

“No one seems to know anything. Last time I asked Hahren Paivel he said I may have just popped out of a tree in the forest.”

“But that’s not…”

“Everyone knows Merrill came from the Alerion clan. Everyone else’s parents are in our clan,” he snaps the last bit of the branch and tosses all of them to the side. “Where did I come from?”

Tamlen doesn’t know what to answer.

“Being a forest spirit sound better than being the abandoned kid,” Kwerkus mutters.

They keep walking.

The terrain eventually goes up and they see the aravels a short distance away, not moving anymore. When they get closer, the rest of the kids, accompanied by Keeper Marethari, come to greet them.

The Keeper looks less than happy, and as she comes to stand before them, they can see just how mad she is.

Both Tamlen and Kwerkus stay still, looking down, while she scolds them.

Ashalle has come down from her aravel and she’s standing aside, waiting for Marethari to finish. As soon as she does, she rushes to Kwerkus’ side and fusses over his scratches. He tries to rebuff her, but falls silent when she picks him up and tells Tamlen to go find his own parents, because they were also worried sick. Then they both disappear into the aravel.

Tamlen goes to find his parents while the other kids gather around him and follow. Merrill says that the adults had been talking in whispers about someone that apparently lived in the woods, someone dangerous, and asks if they found anyone. Tamlen shakes his head and frowns.

“We haven’t been away that long! Why were they so worried?”

“Maybe there’s a spirit in the forest,” Merrill says, with a wistful expression.

“If it’s dangerous, wouldn’t it be a demon?” says Fenarel.

“There’s no difference! Keeper Marethari said-“

“No, I’m pretty sure there’s a difference.”

Tamlen’s had it with forest spirits for today.

“We didn’t find anyone. It’s not important anymore. Leave it be.”

The kids shut up. Small miracles.

His parents are, indeed, looking pretty worried. Though his mother looks angrier and his father just relieved when they see him. So he stands still while his mother gives him the second scold in as many minutes while his father just brushes a hand over his hair.

Later, when it’s already dark and everyone’s gathered at the fires, Tamlen sees that Kwerkus is covered in small plasters (probably filled with elfroot) and Ashella is not leaving his side at all. Tamlen smiles a bit.

Kwerkus notices Tamlen looking at him and sticks his tongue out. Tamlen just smiles wider.


End file.
